Laura Freeman's Blog, page 13

Vanilla Vengeance

Vanilla Vengeance by Molly Maple 2020 cozy mystery; Book One in the Cupcake Crime Series

Charlotte McKay moves from Chicago where her life ambition to be a cupcake baker never took off and moves in with her elderly great Aunt Winifred in small-town Sweetwater Falls. Although her mother said Winifred needed help, the 91-year-old has plenty of spirit and belongs to the Live Forever Club along with her best friends, Karen and Agnes. They have learned that following rules is boring and hope to impart some of their knowledge to Charlotte and the librarian Marianne, who befriends Charlotte.

Maple moves the story along at a quick pace with Charlotte arriving and before she can unpack, being told by Winifred to take her to a protest. Sheriff Flower arrested Karen for shoplifting, a crime she admits to committing, but she paid for the stolen merchandise by donating to the change jar in the store.

Quirky characters add humor and trouble to a story, especially if the heroine or hero is law-abiding and rather ordinary. Readers often remember the odd-ball character better than the hero. They are fun to write and spice up a story because they are unpredictable.

While at the protest Charlotte discovers a body in a compost bin who turns out to be Winifred’s boyfriend. When her aunt appears to be the main suspect, Charlotte tries to solve the crime. This forces her to be brave and stand up for her dream of being a baker. This shows the character growing throughout the story, and the reader roots for her.

Maple adds handsome Logan Flower, the sheriff’s son, who causes Charlotte to lose the ability to speak and turns her into an accident-prone klutz that Logan has to rescue. It’s cute and keeps the couple apart just enough to carry them into the next book.

#cozy #mystery #MollyMaple

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Condemned & Admired

Condemned & Admired by Bree Wolf, The Earl’s Cunning Wife, Love’s Second Chance Series, Damsels and Knights

Violet Winters escapes with her mother from Viscount Silcox who is disappointed he has no heir. Antoine Durex, a French privateer, rescues them and marries her mother. He teaches Violet to sail the seas, and she loves her independence and new family, including her cousin, Henri.

Oliver Cornell, Earl of Cunningwood, is never good enough for his father, who wants him to marry and produce an heir. Oliver is bored and falls asleep on a ship sailing to the Mediterranean. When Antoine’s ship attacks the English ship, Violet and Oliver meet. He envies Violet’s freedom.

Most stories have the goal of a young woman marrying a duke or titled man and living happily ever after, but Wolf shows the aristocracy in a different light with strict rules and a tight rein on the heir to keep wealth and power in a family. Freedom is more important to these characters, but there is a price to pay for living a different life. Is it worth it?

Violet learns her stepsister is betrothed to the man her father had promised her hand in marriage when she was a child and wants to rescue her from a forced marriage to an old man. Others see this as a fortunate match. Everyone in the ton believes Violet and her mother drowned, and she plans to keep her true identity a secret and return to the sea and have a ship of her own someday.

Oliver and Violet are drawn to each other but are torn by their inner desires. Violet does not want to live in London as a lady and Oliver feels he must fulfill his duty as an heir. Juliet does not want to marry her betrothed, but she does not want to be shunned by society if she breaks it off. Oliver’s father is opposed to his sudden (fake) marriage because he thinks Violet is a commoner, and Violet’s father wants to know the fate of his first wife, which could affect his son’s legitimacy.

The story provides plenty of problems to be solved and excitement in a chase and confrontation scene at the end. Oliver and Violet must sort through their conflicting feelings and goals in order to find a way to have love and the life they have dreamed about.

This is a good example of adding layers to a story to keep the reader interested and wondering how the problems will be resolved. It also ties together all the characters, good and bad, in a final confrontation.

#Regency #romance #BreeWolf

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The Spinster’s Fortune

The Spinster’s Fortune by Mary Kendall

This gothic mystery begins with a woman placed in the Blue Plains Home for indigent and infirm elderly. We learn her name is Blanche and her nearest relative is Margaret O’Keefe.

Blanche and her sister Emily lived at 1304 35th Street in Georgetown and the incident of an elderly woman hiding money in her home was a real incident that inspired Mary Kendall’s story.

Blanche and Emily had a troubled relationship which is slowly uncovered throughout the story with several secrets layered on top of each other to explain the strange behavior of Blanche after Emily’s death.

Margaret is married to Keith, a drinker and gambler and their lifestyle reminded me of Tom and Daisy in “The Great Gatsby,” especially since this story takes place in 1929. Margaret and her lawyer Richard Brady begin searching the house for the hidden money. Her cousin, Lilli Lamb, wants the money, too, and causes problems for Margaret.

Kendall switches POV between Margaret and Blanche with Blanche remembering her youth and courtship by a young man who was killed in the Civil War. Hidden tunnels play a part with Blanche escaping more than once. Also there is a supernatural element with the ghost of Margaret’s father helping her.

The mysteries hold the interest of the reader until the very end when a new surprise is added by Kendall. Margaret also matures in her relationships with her husband, Mr. Brady, and her sister who was estranged. Characters need to grow and change in a story, and they shouldn’t be perfect at the beginning. Faults can influence behavior, and growth can affect their decisions which may not be made until the end when a new insight or revelation is made. This is one way of making characters and story more interesting.

#mystery #historical #Kendall

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My Favorite Duke

My Favorite Duke by Bianca Blythe – Regency Romance

This is the second book in The Duke Hunter’s Club. Lady Juliet Shelley has planned her life out to be perfect and surprised everyone by becoming engaged to Horatius, the Duke of Sherwood, before her first season. Only it’s been a year since their engagement, and he keeps postponing the wedding. She convinces her cousin, Genevieve, to pay a surprise visit to Horatius after he doesn’t appear at the ball. She thinks he may be hurt, and they hurry to his home in the Lake District.

Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth, and his friend Sebastian, are looking for counterfeiters in the Lake District. They stop the girls’ coach, and Genevieve shoots and wounds Sebastian. They will appear in the next book. With their plans ruined, the girls return home. Lucas visits Juliet’s home thinking she is a spy or part of the counterfeit ring. She steals his clothes and dresses as a man to reach Horatius. Lucas follows her, and they spend time together, sharing their feelings and dreams.

Lucas was in love with Honoria, Horatius’ sister, who died while he was away at war. There is a mystery regarding her death which isn’t revealed until the end. Often when two characters are thrown together and attraction is obvious, a reason to keep them apart is needed. Blythe accomplishes this with reasonable explanations by the characters. Juliet dismisses her affection as a basic human reaction instead of realizing it is unique toward Lucas. Lucas can’t find a reason to object to Juliet marrying Horatius, who appears perfect in every way.

Blythe throws in plenty of action, secret passageways, mysterious servants, and a last-minute resolution to keep the pages turning. She also adds a family confession to resolve hard feelings between Juliet and her stepmother.

#Regency #romance #Blythe

More book reviews can be found at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

Speak No Evil

Speak No Evil by Tanya Anne Crosby (Oyster Point Thriller Book 1)

This is a mystery romance with three sisters, Caroline, Augusta, and Savannah returning to their ancestral home in Charleston, South Carolina after their mother Florence Aldridge’s death. Flo was the publisher of the local paper and loved by everyone but her daughters who were neglected after their brother Sam’s death when they were children. His body was never found, and other people are going missing.

Flo leaves property and money to her housekeeper Sadie and her son Josh and the girls will inherit $27 million if they live together in their mother’s house for one year. Caroline has to run the paper, Augusta has to make improvements to the house, and Savannah must write a book. Caroline can’t avoid Jack Shaw. They were engaged ten years before, but he made a mistake that she won’t forgive.

Both Caroline and Jack have strong feelings for each other but must wrestle with childhood trauma and the news of a woman’s murder and a missing child. Caroline makes mistakes at the paper and with her sisters as they try to reconnect, the goal of her mother before her death. Bodies begin to pile up and Caroline is targeted before the end of this story, which continues in the sequel with Augusta.

I remember reading “Montana Sky” by Nora Roberts where three sisters had to live together for one year in order to inherit. Her story also involved murders and love interests for all three sisters. Writers can be inspired by other stories and writers. The prompt can go in any direction depending upon the writer. Although the stories appear similar, they go in different paths with the author’s style making them unique.

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#Mystery #romance #Crosby

Seeing Miss Heartstone

Seeing Miss Heartstone by Nichole Van 2018 Regency Romance

I loved this story and encourage everyone who enjoys a romance to read it. You’ll root for the characters and enjoy the twist and turns.

The plot begins typically enough with Arabella Heartstone needing a husband so her mother will stop matchmaking. Colin, Lord Blake has recently become the Marquess of Blake and needs money to cover debts and rebuild his neglected properties. Oh, and did I mention Belle is worth a fortune because of her father the businessman, who died three years prior after teaching her all about the family business.

Then begins the fun. Belle, 19, proposes marriage to a startled Blake in 1816 in the park. He doesn’t remember meeting her at a party, establishing his poor memory for faces and names. He plans to go to India and make a fortune to rebuild his properties in England. Belle tells him she has researched him along with other suitable husbands and lays out her reasons for needing to marry.

He tells her to “learn how to fly” by remaining single and taking control of her own life. He then rejects her proposal and leaves for India. She repays his good advice by investing in his business ventures in India and sharing 50% in the profits. But she works through her solicitor and remains an anonymous LHF to him. Instead of simply taking the investment, he begins writing letters to “him” and they strike up a friendship over a seven-year period before he returns home.

Belle finds a soul mate with Blake as they invest in a retirement home for soldiers and an orphanage. She learns to overcome her shyness and is a much sought after lady, though mostly for her wealth. They give each other advice over the years and share riddles, books, and experiences. The long distance letter writing creates a problem as Belle falls in love with Blake and is afraid if she tells him she is a woman, he will end the partnership and the letters she loves receiving.

Van divides the book into three parts. The first part I’ve described. The second has Blake returning and all the problems it causes as he tries to find LHF. He can’t remember Belle from their first meeting and is terrible with names (already foreshadowed) but will eventually put the pieces together. His reaction and their relationship after the truth is out takes the reader on the ups and downs of a tested relationship. Blake was deceived by a woman in India and values honesty so he has trouble with Belle’s lies even though they were necessary to maintain their partnership. Can a romance destroy a friendship? She feels guilty but her apologies fall on deaf ears. You root for them to resolve their differences which is the goal of every romance writer.

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#romance #regency #Van

No One To Trust

No One To Trust by L.A. Dobbs (Rockford Security Mystery Series Book 5)

Chase Evans spends 5 years in jail for drug trafficking for someone else. He had studied law but can’t see a future now that he’s an ex-con. His best friend and former security firm partner Blake Rockford picks him up from prison. He wonders why his younger brother, Shane, isn’t there and so does the reader. Blake offers him a job and place to stay. Blake is repaying an old debt.

On his first day on the job working at the Lucky Ace Hotel and Casino, Katherine Bryant, wife of the owner Owen Bryant, asks him to escort her on a shopping spree. He takes the packages to her apartment, and she tries to get him in bed, pulling hair from his head and keeping his belt. Chase flees and later finds out Owen was killed.

Not only is Chase the prime suspect, but when he tries to clear his name, he meets Shelby Bryant, Owen’s daughter. Katherine is determined to cut her out of the will and gives her a motive for the murder as well. Every time Chase tries to find evidence to clear his name, he walks into a set up that makes him look more guilty.

Chase’s life is contrasted against the large friendly Rockford family. Shelby works for an animal shelter, and Dobbs adds plenty of animal moments in the story. The writing has an old detective-story feel with hard nose Chase as the hero, but he also came across as sentimental with the romance with Shelby a large part of the story.

More book reviews can be found at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#mystery #Dobbs #bookreview

The Raider’s Daughter

The Raider’s Daughter (The Raiders Book 2) by Kimberly Cates

This is the sequel to The Raider’s Bride in which Lucy shows up at Patriot Raider Pendragon’s doorstep as a willful child scarred from abandonment. Emily is the woman caught up in the spying of the American Revolution but discovers another secret that forever changes all their lives.

In this sequel Lucy is grown and trying to uncover a secret delivered in a package from a person claiming to be her dead father. She abandons her loving parents in Virginia and searches for answers in England where she meets Dominic St. Cyr, a man who hides the pain of his past behind icy coolness. While dressed as a boy to meet the mystery man, she is enlisted as Dom’s second when he challenges her uncle Jasper d’Autrecourt to a duel in order to save his younger brother.

Cates knows how to write plenty of adventure in a layered, complex plot that keeps exposing secrets from beginning to end. All the ribbons of the story are tied up into a neat bow by the last page, satisfying the reader with a sigh of contentment.

Lucy is bold and outrageous as a child and doesn’t disappoint as an adult, matching Dom in all ways. Lucy and Dom wrestle with internal struggles debating whether to stay or go, tell or hide the truth. The arguments are logical and have consequences. Both behave in natural and intelligent ways, but their bravery and recklessness have consequences.

Cates introduces our characters at a seedy Perdition Gate gaming hell and then brings them back together at a ballroom where they collide in a battle of wills. Cates focuses on the lovers, adding a few characters to add pressure to the romance-resistant couple as they battle each other. Neither one wants to bend and each is determined not to fall in love, guarding their injured hearts, but the passion cannot be denied. Dom is all about family honor, and Lucy won’t be told what she can do, leading both down a dangerous path.

Cates reveals all the secrets in the end, and they are worth waiting for. I love her storytelling with characters that are strong, passionate, and funny. The plots unfold naturally but have a complexity that many stories lack. Every detail is important so don’t skip any pages.

More book reviews can be found at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#Cates #romance #historical

Faithless in Death

Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb 2021 mystery

The murder of artist Ariel Byrd opens up a whole can of worms, which Eve would question ‘why worms are in a can,’ to a large cult, The Natural Order. Ariel’s lover Gwen is a member of the cult because her parents are doctors in the cult. They disowned her brother, and she fears if they find out she is gay, they will disown her. She is engaged to rich Merrit Caine and hopes to have a baby and receive her inheritance for being an obedient daughter. With Ariel’s death, that may all be exposed.

Robb uncovers the cult layer by layer, introducing the reader to its members, their fears, and the rules. For anyone who wants to know how cults operate or how religion can control and manipulate its members, this is the book to read. Although it is a fictional cult, the practices and design are the same. Believers are bred, and this cult is recruiting young women by lying to them about jobs and then forcing them to marry men, often much older, in order to produce more children, who are raised by the cult.

The men are in control, and the women are beaten or murdered for disobeying. Those who don’t want to follow the rule are tortured or made slaves. A few brave women ask for Eve’s help, and she delivers.

This book has a wonderful scene where Roarke and Eve are breaking into the compound, and he tells her if she had been his partner in his errant youth, they would have been unstoppable. If only she wasn’t a cop. How ironic that he is her partner more and more in solving crimes and upholding the law.

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#mystery #JDRobb

To Be Wicked With You

To Be Wicked With You (League of Unweddable Gentlemen) by Tamara Gill 2020 Regency

Finley Stone, Duke of Carlisle, must marry a local gentlewoman within 60 days to inherit the money needed to run the family estate. The Milton Girls are the only ones who qualify. Evie is 27, and he considers her too old for producing an heir so he proposes to Lucy, 22.

An author can use a will or family money to create a problem for the hero. Gill also adds a time factor to hurry the story along.

Lucy’s family is excited for her, but Evie realizes Lucy isn’t as happy as she should be and finds out that Lucy is in love with farmer Anthony Brown. When Lucy asks Evie to seduce Finn, she is determined to tell him the truth. Only Lucy and Anthony run off. Now Finn and Evie join forces to stop a scandal and make sure Lucy marries Anthony.

Gill has all the elements of a Regency romp with a forced marriage, runaway bride, and carriage chase that throws Finn and Evie together. Finn is honorable unlike his rake father who ruined their name. He is determined to do the right thing even if it means marrying a woman he does not love. Evie has accepted her spinsterhood but is drawn to Finn and wants to experience a kiss from him. When the two lovers seem to be ready to declare their love, Lucy reenters the story and throws a wrench into everyone’s plans.

Gill provides plenty of scenes where Finn and Evie imagine forbidden lusts with each other as their denied attraction heats up. It takes their friends to help sort out their true feelings, but will they admit them to each other?

More book reviews are available at http://www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

#Gill #Regency #Romance #historical